


A Song Stuck in My Memory

by radbanette



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Anastasia AU, F/M, Light Angst, Memory Loss, This is what happens when soundtracks becomes a coping mechanism for sadness- you make AUs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2018-08-19 00:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8182540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radbanette/pseuds/radbanette
Summary: Portraits lined all down the wall across from the windows opening to the old garden. Soul stared at them, being stricken by how strangely real they felt. He could envision them laughing and talking in this very room, dancing around as classical music played. He could hear the music  and the talking and the clacking of shoes, he could smell the heavy scent of perfume and cologne, he could feel the fine fabric of dresses and suits as they danced past him.He turned, his eyes immediately going to the family standing on the staircase at the far end of the room. They were looking directly at him, smiling, with kindness and love in their eyes instead of the sympathy and pity he'd always seen in people's eyes. He reached out a hand towards them, his mind aching as he stretched for a memory just out of his reach. They looked familiar.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a blisteringly hot day in Death City, as was usual, and Soul scowled at the blazing sun as if that would make it less hot. As expected, he did not succeed. If anything, it only seemed to get hotter, as if the sun was laughing at him.  
The woman who ran the orphanage he'd lived at for the past four years- he had never bothered to learn her name, choosing instead to call her a variety of nicknames verging from funny to mean depending on his mood- shouted, telling him to hurry up. He shuffled on, giving a little wave to the kids who were shouting good-byes at him. When he arrived at the gate, he finally looked up at her.  
She was looking at him with something like sadness in her eyes. She'd never been mean, per say, more like stressed past the point that any normal person should be. She's always tried to be nice to the children, but sometimes it was too much and she would snap and yell at them. Soul didn't blame her much for that. The kids could be a total headache, and she'd always tried her hardest to not yell.  
"Listen to me, Soul," she said carefully. "I have a friend at the factory who said they could get you a job. Go to the fork in the road, then go left. You won't be able to miss it. Got it?"  
"Got it," he said. "Thanks." He stared to move out of the gate, but she grabbed his arm.  
"Soul, I know you want to know about your past," she said carefully, knowing it was a touchy subject, "but jobs are getting fewer and far-between. You need to take this job while you can. If you don't turn up by tomorrow morning, they're going to find someone else."  
"I'll make it." He paused a minute. "Thanks for not being too terrible all those years."  
She gave a small smile and let go of his arm. "It's my job. Now go on- start your life! And feel free to stop by whenever. I'm sure the kids would love to see you again."  
Soul moved away, past the gates. Once he heard the resounding clank of the gates being closed, he turned. He had arrived at this orphanage when he had been a teenager, probably around fourteen, with no memories. He had been yet another mouth to feed that would probably never be adopted, as everyone wanted to adopt young kids, and many people didn't have the money or space to adopt anymore. Every single day for the past four years, he'd stared out past these very same gates, wondering what the world held for him. Was his family still out there? Were they looking for him? Or was he truly alone?  
He quietly touched the necklace he always wore under his shirt. "The best music is made not only with an instrument but also with your soul." The familiar shape and phrase comforted him somewhat and he began walking away from the orphanage and towards his new life.  
It wasn't long until he reached the crossroads the woman at the orphanage had told him about. He stared at the sign for a while, then kicked it. "No way do I want to work in a factory," he stated out loud. "That'll just drain the life out of my body. Plus, I'll always be Soul, a kid who lost his memory and had to live off hand-outs." He looked down the other path. "Death City," he said quietly. "Never heard good things about the place. Ever since Lord Death disappeared with his son, things have got worse and worse. But it might be a better place than a factory." He leaned against the sign and shook his head. "A hint from the universe would be really great right now! What am I supposed to do?"  
He stared up at the sky, expecting some form of lightning or cloud to spell out exactly what he was supposed to do. When nothing happened, he growled in frustration. However, that was forgotten when he felt something tiny pulling at his pant leg.  
It was a small black cat that looked quite mangy. There was really nothing else interesting to say about it other than its tenaciousness. It pulled on Soul's pant leg viciously, as if it was angry at him.  
"Hey! Get off!" Soul shook his leg, not hard enough that the cat would go flying, but hard enough to get it off. The cat did indeed let go, and managed to land on its feet, sauntering towards the path to Death City. It sat down on the path and started licking its paws.  
Soul stared at the cat. "Don't tell me, you're my sign?"  
The cat mewed in affirmation.  
He sighed, then shrugged. "Alright, good enough," Soul decided. "I've done lots more crazier things than following a cat." He squared his shoulders and started down the path, the cat following.  
Both sides of the path were covered in dust, and the only way to differentiate between the dust and the path was that the path was a slight shade lighter than the dust. With every step Soul took, dust would rise and fly into his face. He was beginning to wish he had remembered to grab a pair of goggles or a rag or something from the orphanage before he had left. He kept coughing and gagging on the dust, and had long since become annoyed by this. Add the sweltering heat to the equation, and Soul was extremely miserable. "You better be right about this," he warned the cat. It probably would have been a shorter walk to the factory, and at least the factory didn't have dust. The cat yawned, not concerned in the slightest.  
After stumbling along, nearly blind, for an hour, the two reached a small hill overlooking Death City. Directly opposite of where Soul and the cat were standing was another, larger hill. On the crest of the hill sat a huge abandoned mansion- pure black with silver and red trimmings, it stuck out like a sore thumb against the dull brown of Death City.  
Death City, located in the valley between the mansion and Soul, was extremely underwhelming. Even from his high vantage point, Soul was a little disgusted. The place was coated in sand, with cobblestone instead of proper pavement. The buildings were all in disrepair, and seemed to sag sadly.  
Soul wasn't really sure what had caused the downfall of Death City. Everyone said that in the same year he lost his memory, Lord Death, the fearless leader of Death City, and his son Kidd fled the city, allowing for a rebel syndicate called Arachnophobia to take over. But what didn't make sense was why Lord Death would run, everyone pointed out. At that point, Arachnophobia hadn't been much of a threat at all, only rising to prominence in his absence, and the witch Medusa had disappeared.  
He surveyed the city once more, hands stuck deep in his pockets and his shoulders slumped forward. "What a dump," he decided. "Not worth my time to go there. What were you thinking, cat?"  
The cat paid no attention to Soul's doubt, however, and began running straight into the city.  
"Hey, wait!" Soul shouted. He sprinted after the cat and straight into the city, having to dodge people and Arachnophobia members and fighting to keep the cat in sight. By the time he caught up to the cat, they were on top of the hill with the mansion. He was panting hard, barely able to form words. "Y-you," a pause for shaky and shallow breath, "l-little sh-"  
The cat interrupted him, mewing. Once it had his attention, it sauntered towards something he hadn't noticed before- another house on the hill.  
There were maybe three others besides the large one. They were all smaller, and were white with dead ivy coating the front with two wings on either side of the main hall. Soul assumed that one wing was for entertaining, and the other for living.  
Soul followed the cat, staring at the mansion it had slipped inside of. It had probably been beautiful once. Soul could almost imagine it- despite Death City being located in the desert, the house would be surrounded by gardens, with green ivy climbing up the outside walls. Everything was bright and colorful, from the house itself to the people living there. A couple watched while an older child taught his younger brother about bees.  
Soul blinked, and just like that it was gone. The mansion was covered in dust, the greenery was all dead, and all that was left of the people who lived here was bittersweet memories.  
"Hey, let's get out of here," Soul called to the cat, which was now sitting on the doorstep. The cat meowed, then slipped through the boarded-up door.  
"Why am I going to all this trouble for a stupid cat?" he grumbled to himself, tearing off one of the boards so that he could get in.  
His footsteps echoed eerily in the empty house. The main hall area that he had entered through was covered in portraits with small labels under them. He surveyed a picture of a kind but serious-looking man with a young boy who looked a lot like him. Unfortunately, the label on that picture had been scratched off long ago. Soul stared for a few seconds. The man seemed like the type to be in a position of authority, perhaps a leader of some sort. The boy- he seemed to be trying too hard to mimic his father.  
The next picture was something Soul didn't understand much. It seemed to be some sort of modern art piece; one of the ones that didn't make sense. The label read "The Music of the Soul".  
He moved on to the last portrait and gave a sharp laugh. It was of a cat similar to the one he had followed here, but with a fluffier tail and less starved-looking. Underneath, the plaque read, "Blair, the Evans family pet".  
"Hey, cat," he called, "you look a lot like this old cat. Huh. You know, I think I'll call you Blair." For some reason, he felt like the name fit.  
The cat mewed at him, and he got the impression it was scolding him for forgetting why they were here, even though he didn't know in the first place. Once it had his attention, the cat entered a huge open doorway.  
At this point, Soul didn't even bother questioning it. He followed the cat into the room, his breath being taken away by the sheer… everything of the room.  
This room alone was larger than the entire orphanage, and the ornamental marble cat statues by the door could be sold alone and used to buy an entire new orphanage. Even in its decrepit state, this room was the most beautiful thing Soul had ever seen. Huge windows let in natural light from what used to be the garden, the vaulted ceilings were painted with scenes of famous musicians playing their instruments, and the floor, despite being covered with dust, was remarkably shiny and seemed to have thin veins of gold running throughout it.  
Portraits lined all down the wall across from the windows opening to the old garden. Soul stared at them, being stricken by how strangely real they felt. He could envision them laughing and talking in this very room, dancing around as classical music played. He could hear the music and the talking and the clacking of shoes, he could smell the heavy scent of perfume and cologne, he could feel the fine fabric of dresses and suits as they danced past him.  
He turned, his eyes immediately going to the family standing on the staircase at the far end of the room. They were looking directly at him, smiling, with kindness and love in their eyes instead of the sympathy and pity he'd always seen in people's eyes. He reached out a hand towards them, his mind aching as he stretched for a memory just out of his reach. They looked familiar.  
"What are you doing in here?" a voice shouted.  
Soul was rudely jostled from whatever that had been, and was startled still for a second. He quickly scooped up Blair and started running away from the voice, towards the very same landing that the family had been standing on. Their faces were no longer as clear in his head, as if someone had rubbed mud all over the scene.  
He had barely made it onto the landing when someone grabbed his arm and yanked him around. Fierce green eyes stared at him from underneath a baseball cap. "You're not allowed to be in here," the person warned, their tone fierce.  
"Well neither are you," Soul snapped, yanking his arm away.  
"He's got a point," another voice pointed out.  
"No one asked your opinion, Tsubaki," Green Eyes grumbled.  
Two figures appeared beside the first. One had a long black ponytail and the other had a shock of blue hair. Both, like the first, were wearing well-worn clothes, although theirs at least didn't have holes and patches like Soul's clothes did. All three stared at him strangely.  
"What?" he asked. "Do I got something on my face?"  
"Tsubaki? Black*Star?" Green Eyes asked. "Do you see what I see?"  
"Yeah," they agreed at the same time.  
"Stop staring at me, it's weird!" Soul told them. He started to back up a little bit, watching them warily.  
Green Eyes pointed behind him. "You appear to bear a remarkable resemblance to the missing Evans son."  
He turned around and saw a huge portrait of some family. He felt like they may have been the ones he saw, but he wasn't entirely sure. They were all posing in front of the piano, the youngest son, a boy with white hair and red eyes, holding the cat from the first portrait he saw. It took him a second to realize that the boy in the portrait looked a lot like he probably did when he was ten.  
"You think that's me?" He laughed. "Yeah, right."  
"Alright, then," Green Eyes said, "tell us: what do your parents do? Do they normally let you run around unsupervised?"  
He frowned. Her expression was mostly quizzical, but Soul knew she already knew the answer. He also got the feeling she would know if he lied to her. "I'm an orphan."  
She nodded. "That's what I thought."  
Black Ponytail stepped forward. "I understand that this can be difficult to take in, but just let it sink in for a minute."  
"I don't have to let it sink it," he protested. "I'm not that prissy rich little brat!"  
Green Eyes stared at him, her eyes occasionally flicking to the portrait behind him. She shrugged. "If you say so. The resemblance is uncanny, but whatever. We were going to invite you to go with us to New York City- the son of the late Lord Death has been looking for the missing Evans son, and we've been on a mission to find him."  
"New York City?" Soul frowned. Living in New York City would be much better than Death City; it wouldn't be so horribly hot, he would no longer be seen as solely an orphan, and it would be a better place to start out. Not to mention he wouldn't have to choke on five gallons of dust a day. But he couldn't go by himself; he had no money for traveling, food, or hotels. If he went with them, at least he would get a free ride to a new start. "Even if I was the missing Evans son," he said carefully, "why would I want to be? I wouldn't get a family, or a home; just a name."  
"And the Evans fortune," Blue hair said, stepping forward. "The Evans were a family of musicians, but they were loaded. All of their money is still intact, waiting for the heir."  
That caught Soul's attention. Money was necessary to live, and if he could somehow pass for the Evans heir long enough to seem legit, then he would at least have money for a solid beginning. "What would I have to do?" he asked.  
"That's easy!" Blue hair answered. "The four of us will go to New York City, you'll meet with the assistant for Kidd Death, and if you make it past that test, you meet with Kidd himself!"  
"No one's gotten that far, though," Green eyes stated. "You, though, might just be able to."  
"Of course I will!" Soul scoffed.  
"So you're in?" she asked. She looked triumphant, and Soul got the bad feeling he had been tricked.  
"Yeah, sure," he agreed, shrugging. "Even if I fail, I'll still be in a better place. Death City is such a dump."  
The three didn't say anything, but seemed to agree. "It'll be a pleasure to be wor- travelling, with you," Black Ponytail said. "My name is Tsubaki. The boy is Black*Star and the girl is Maka."  
Soul wasn't fooled. He knew this wasn't a vacation; it was a scam. These three were probably thieves who had stolen train tickets from some rich idiot. He had to fight back a smile. Getting to scam scammers- that would be fun. "I'm Soul. And this is Blair," he said, pointing to the cat still in his arms. "She's coming with us."  
Maka shrugged. "I don't see why not. Your cat's kinda cute."  
Blair leapt from Soul's arms to Maka's. She gave a small chuckle and started petting the cat.  
"Hey!" Soul protested. "Traitor," he said quietly to Blair. She purred in response.  
"We should probably leave if we're going to catch our train," Black*Star said, arms crossed in front of him. Soul guessed that he had been the one to steal the tickets, and that it hadn't been an easy job.  
"Yeah, let's go," Maka agreed. The three began to walk away, but Soul stayed where he was. He looked back at the portrait hanging behind him. Was that really his family? His eyes surveyed each face, ending with the face that they claimed belonged to a younger him. Was that him? Had he once lived in this mansion?  
"Hey!" Black*Star yelled. "Are you coming or what, Soul?"  
He looked at the portrait for another second, then turned away and followed them.  
Black eyes peered from a secret hiding place behind one of the portraits. "No, no," the owner of the eyes whispered nervously. "They died- they all died! The Evans, they died years ago, with Medusa!" They scurried backwards, then routed around in the darkness to find the last relic of the witch Medusa- the cylinder filled with demons that she had sold her soul for.  
When their hands finally grasped it, they were shocked to find that it was warm. For the past four years since her death, it had been nothing but cold and unresponsive. But now, it's surface was warming up, and the demons were swirling inside.  
"They're not dead," they whispered, eyes growing large. "The cursed family, somehow one of them survived!" If they had been braver, they would have peeked out once more to take another look at the white-haired boy. "That was him, the missing Evans son. He's alive after all."  
One of the demons slipped out of the container and flew deeper into the hiding spot, motioning to follow it.  
"No!" They flattened themself against the wall, trying to stay far away from the demon. "I don't want to go!"  
The demon smiled wickedly. From deep within the hiding spot, which now seemed much larger and colder than it had previousl, whispered a voice, "Crona, come here."  
Crona recognized the voice. "M-medusa? No, she died!"  
"Come here, Crona. Don't make me come and get you."  
"I don't know how to deal with this," they whispered. A burst of cold wind suddenly flew into Crona's face, startling them greatly. "A-alright," they whimpered. Crona stood up and slowly followed the demon, clutching the cylinder tightly.  
They went deeper and deeper into the hiding spot, until Crona was sure that they were no longer in the Evans mansion anymore. Finally, the passage opened up and became a sort of dead forest with a small clearing in front of them.  
"It's about time," snapped a voice from the clearing. "It's been four years, Crona. Don't you think that's too long to wait?"  
Crona hesitated, but finally stepped forward into the clearing. "M-madam M-medusa. I-I thought you were d-dead."  
She scoffed. "In a way, I suppose I am. But then again, I died when I gave up my soul for that cylinder," she said, pointing to the cylinder in Crona's hands. "What I don't understand is why I'm still here. The Evans family is long dead, and all in Death City have learned to never cross a Gorgon. I have fulfilled what I set out to accomplish."  
"Well, that's the thing," Crona said quietly. "An Evans survived. The youngest son, I saw him."  
Medusa growled. "Then our work is not complete. Crona! Where are they headed to?"  
Crona flinched. "They're heading to New York City," they answered. "T-to meet with Kidd Death."  
"They won't make it," she stated, turning to walk towards Crona. "We're going to stop them, and finish what I started years ago. The last Evans is going to die!"  
"Y-yes, M-madam Medusa!"  
"Hand me the cylinder, Crona," Medusa ordered.  
Crona held onto it for a split second, knowing that she was nearly powerless without it, then passed it into Medusa's hands.  
"Good child," she said, looking pleased to have her cylinder back. "Maybe I should kill Kidd Death too, just to cement my revenge against Death. Maybe Death's close friends the Evans dying because of him wasn't enough. Maybe his son needs to die too!"  
Crona watched in fear as Medusa laughed, a vivacity returned to her dead body at the thought of revenge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soul, Maka, Tsubaki, and Black*Star are now on their way to New York City, with a few complications awaiting them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> both of these chapters have begun with Soul being unhappy. i wonder if this is going to be a theme

Soul was miserable. He'd never been on a train before so he had expected it to be fun, but it was quite the opposite. Their carriage was small, and even though Soul had gotten the window seat (he and Maka had briefly fought over it, but Tsubaki made Maka let Soul have it) he couldn't see much because the train was moving much too fast.  
He sighed and slouched in his seat, then looked over at Maka sitting next to him. She was sitting quietly, reading some thick book. Blair was sitting between them, but was resting her head on Maka's leg, purring quietly.  
"There's nothing to do," Soul announced to the others. Tsubaki looked up at him and gave a sympathetic smile, then turned back to whatever she was writing. Maka ignored him.  
"This train ride is gonna take forever!" Black*Star agreed. "Come on, there's gotta be something we can do to pass the time!"  
"Black*Star," Maka warned.  
He opened his mouth to reply, but Tsubaki interrupted, "Black*Star why don't you go take a walk? I'm sure that'll help your boredom."  
"Yeah, sure!" Black*Star agreed. He jumped off his seat and left the room, accidentally slamming the door shut.  
Maka sighed. "I'll never get used to Black*Star," she stated.  
Tsubaki gave a small laugh. "He can be difficult at times."  
Maka turned back to her book, and Tsubaki kept writing in those small books that looked suspiciously like fake passports. Soul groaned internally. He thought there was going to be a conversation or something, but no- right back to silence. He was going to go crazy.  
"What book are you reading?" he finally asked Maka.  
She looked up from the book and towards him. Since they had gotten on the train, she had removed the baseball cap she had been wearing previously, and put her ash blonde hair up into twin ponytails. Soul thought the hairstyle was a little childish, but on her it didn't look that bad.  
“I’m brushing up on the manners and cordialities that the Evans family taught their sons,” she said, as if it was natural to be reading such a boring book. “This book is exactly the same that both the Evans and Death family owned. We have to make sure that you don’t act strange around Kidd Death.”  
"So were Kidd and the Evans kid- me, I guess- friends?" Soul asked. "I mean, they had to be. Why else would Kidd be looking for him?"  
Tsubaki shrugged. "We don't really know. Kidd refuses to answer any questions on why he's looking for Samuel."  
That had been the first time Soul heard the name of the lost Evans boy. "Samuel," he repeated. He knew what he looked like- white hair, red eyes, shark teeth, and shabby clothes- and there was no way the name Samuel fit him. Even Sam or Sammy would seem weird. "Really hope I'm not the Evans boy," Soul stated, sitting back. "That's a stupid name. I'm too cool for it."  
Maka arched an eyebrow. "Like 'Soul' is any better?"  
"Hey, shut up! It's an awesome name!"  
"Yeah, right. Maybe for a fish or something."  
"Well, what the hell kinda name is 'Maka'?"  
At that moment, Black*Star entered the room and whispered something in Tsubaki's ear. She looked panicked for a minute, then regained her composure. "You two can't seem to get along," she pointed out. "So maybe we need to find a bigger car, so you two don't have to sit right next to each other."  
Maka raised an eyebrow at Tsubaki, who gave her a small but nervous smile. She eventually relented, and stood up to grab the few pieces of luggage they had. Soul stood up and reached to take the luggage out of her hands, but she kicked him. "I can handle it," she stated. "Besides, you're an heir, and heirs don't do the heavy lifting." She picked up the luggage with ease and followed Tsubaki out of the room.  
Black*Star laughed, but didn't answer Soul's question of why he was laughing. He simply left the car, following wherever Maka and Tsubaki were going. Soul immediately followed, not wanting to get left behind.  
When Soul rejoined the group, swaying with the car beneath him, he frowned at the box car they had occupied. "This was your bright idea?" he asked no one in particular, sitting down on the floor. "We’re gonna sweat to death in here!"  
"You'd think someone from Death City wouldn't complain so much," Maka said, crossing her arms.  
"Cut him some slack, Maka," Tsubaki said. "He's had a hard day."  
Black*Star laughed. "Yeah, like finding out that you're possibly the heir to a large fortune is hard."  
"Everything he thought about his life was a lie," Tsubaki pointed out. "His entire life is changing right in front of him! Don't you think that would be a difficult transition?"  
"Huh," Soul said quietly, leaning against the wall of the baggage car. "You know, I didn't realize that."  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Soul, I didn't mean-" Tsubaki started.  
"It's fine," he interrupted. "You don't need to apologize." She was right, after all. Even if he wasn't the lost Evans boy, everything was going to be different for him. He wouldn't be Soul the orphan anymore. He would be whoever he made himself out to be. Perhaps that thought should have scared him, but Soul found it exciting.  
The door suddenly rattled loudly, causing Tsubaki, and Maka to flinch and Black*Star to jump to his feet. "Stupid old train," Maka muttered under her breath.  
Black*Star sat up suddenly, staring at the door. "Guys, what's that green glow?"  
They all lurched forward as the train began to pick up speed. Soul sprinted to the door they came through, the door to the dining car. "We're separated from the dining car!" he shouted back at them. "That's probably why we're picking up speed!"  
"And the engine's going berserk!" Maka stated from the other door. "Oh- oh no."  
"What's wrong?" Tsubaki asked, standing up.  
Maka turned back to face them, her face grave. "The bridge is out. If we don't stop this car before we reach it-" She didn't finish that thought.  
"We need to separate the baggage car from the engine," Tsubaki said, jumping up. "Black*Star, you handle that. Maka, help me get our stuff together. Only necessities."  
Maka refused to listen, opening the door to take a look at the fusing couplets. Tsubaki turned to Soul "Alright, well someone has to help me grab our things. Come on, Soul."  
Soul wanted to go help Maka, but he figured that she and Black*Star would be able to handle it by themselves. He helped Tsubaki grab the few bags they had, then turned to see how Maka and Black*Star were doing.  
"Nothing's working!" Maka yelled, frustrated. "Is there anything more powerful in there?"  
"Black*Star!" Soul shouted. He pointed to a crate filled with TNT sticks. "That outta be enough."  
"Yeah, of course! I knew that was there!" Black*Star shouted. He grabbed one and lit it before handing it to Maka.  
"Do you know how dangerous this is?" Maka demanded as she stuck the TNT in the couplet. "If we die, this is all your fault!"  
"I was the one who suggested it!" Soul shouted to be heard above the gradually-increasing roar of the engine.  
"I was talking to you!"  
The four of them hunkered in the back of the baggage car, waiting for the TNT to go off. "This is a terrible idea," Maka muttered.  
Soul opened his mouth, but the dynamite went off, shutting him up immediately. The front of the car was nearly blown off, but at least they were no longer connected to the runaway engine.  
"The brakes aren't working!" Tsubaki yelled, having sprinted towards the brake the second after the dynamite went off. "We'll have to find another way to stop!"  
"I have an idea!" Maka grabbed a length of chain with a hook on the end. "Tsubaki, you put out the fires. Black*Star, help me!"  
"Of course! I, the great Black*Star, can do anything!" He stepped forward straight into one of the little fires and started screaming.  
"Someone hand me the chain!" shouted Maka's voice from what sounded like under the car.  
"Are you insane?" Soul demanded, running to hand her the hook.  
She looked up at him for a few seconds, green eyes burning with determination. "This is our only chance. I know what I'm doing. Just trust me and hand me the hook. We're running out of time."  
He nodded, and handed her the hook. She attached it to the couplet and yanked on it to make sure that it wouldn't come lose. Underneath the car, there was a sound like something was coming lose. Soul grabbed Maka's hand and pulled her up, a second before the lose bit went flying through where Maka had been, then landed with a crash in the forest.  
"Lucky for you I have quick reflexes," Soul told her, pulling her up the rest of the way.  
"I owe you one," she said, moving to the back of the train. "Now, brace yourselves!" She grabbed the grappling hook at the other end of the train and threw it out the back. It landed on the track, but the slats weren't enough to stop their momentum. The car tipped forwards as the hook pulled the tracks up behind them.  
Tsubaki opened up the side door and thrust bags into the arms of the other three. "Jump!" she shouted, practically pushing them.  
Soul landed hard on the dirt, trying to keep from squashing Blair in his arms. The cat jumped out of his arms the second they landed and mewed at him, as if spurring him to get a move on. "Shut up, cat," he muttered, rubbing the side that he had landed on.  
"Haha, we made it!" Black*Star cheered.  
"Well we're alive, so that's good," Tsubaki said, giving a weary smile.  
"We've kind of lost our ride, though," Soul pointed out, sitting up. "How are we going to get to New York City?"  
Maka lay flat on her back, staring at the sky. "The train was supposed to take us to a port city so that we could get a boat to New York. If we can manage to catch a bus or something, we could get there in time before the boat leaves."  
"Why not just get a train to New York?" Soul asked, frowning. "Why a train and a boat?"  
"Because shut up, that's why."  
"Ah, okay, nevermind. It doesn’t matter." They must have stolen the boat tickets as well, or had to buy them because the train tickets to the port city were the only ones they could steal.  
Maka stood up slowly. "Well if we're gonna make it in time, we'd better get going. Come on, lazybones! Let's get a move on!"  
Soul groaned, but got up and grabbed a few of the bags that Tsubaki was holding. "How far do we have to go?"  
"We follow the train tracks!" Black*Star stated. "We'll get there in no time!"  
“If we get to a road, we might be able to hitch a ride,” Maka pointed out.  
"There should be a road nearby, so let's just try that," Tsubaki suggested.  
"Agreed," Soul said, already trekking through the half-dead forest. He turned around after a few minutes to find them still standing there. "Hey, come on! Let's get moving!"  
The four walked in silence for a while, only the sound of the dirt and occasional leaf crunching under their feet. "So tell me about this Samuel Evans kid," Soul said suddenly. "Me, I guess." He gave a sharp laugh. "I'll never be able to get to that lame name."  
"That's understandable," Maka nodded. "We can keep calling you Soul, though. That'll make it easier for everyone."  
"We'll have to change that before we get to New York, though," Tsubaki pointed out.  
"That's not a big deal," Maka said, waving her off. "Now, I guess we need to teach you all about the Evans family, as well as Lord Death and Kidd Death. Listen closely, okay, because we don't have the time to repeat ourselves. You have an older brother named Wes who was a gifted violinist, and both of your parents were famous musicians, as well. Even though you were young before the fall of Death City, you were quite the little prodigy in piano."  
"I've never touched a piano, to my knowledge," Soul said blankly. "I really hope he doesn't test my skill at piano."  
"No reason to worry about that now," Tsubaki said cheerfully. "Your parents were friends of Lord Death's since before you were born, but you were born in New York City instead of Death City. You and Kidd were both given private tutors, and you used to hide to escape your lessons."  
"Wes was the only person who could find you!" Black*Star chimed in.  
"But you still had an education fit for royalty," Maka stated. "So we'll have to teach you how to speak, walk, and dress properly before you meet with Kidd Death."  
"Wait a second, what's wrong with how I talk?" Soul demanded.  
Maka continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "The first song both you and Wes had learned to play was “Canon in D”, which was your parents’ favorite song. You were supposed to play it as a duet on the night of the fire." Maka suddenly went quiet, as if she remembered something important.  
Tsubaki placed a gentle hand on Maka's shoulder. "We can cover the topic of the fire later," she said. "For now, let's run over all of the family members that Samuel would have known, as well as how to walk properly."  
That seemed to break Maka out of her haze. "Yes, that's a good idea. You have to learn how to walk properly, bow properly, and the correct way to sit. I hope you have a good memory, Soul."  
"Other than the first fourteen years of my life," he shrugged.  
Black*Star laughed and slapped Soul's back a little too hard, but Soul wouldn't admit that. "Alright! Let's get started then!"  
Maka pulled the boring book from earlier out of her bag and all but shoved it under Soul's nose. "In the front page of this book on manners, I doodled your family tree; you have to learn names first, then we'll give you facts to attach to those names. It would be better if we had pictures, but I think I could describe them well enough so you could recognize them in case Kidd has any pictures to quiz people."  
"How do you know so much about the Evans family?" Soul asked.  
"We can discuss that later," she said firmly. "For now, your family tree. Now, you already know about your older brother Wesley, Wes for short. He was a musician, just like most people in your family. Your mother was named Cecilia and your father was named Lawrence. Your parents went to Juliard together, which was how they met. Your father grew up in Death City and had gone to the same private school that Lord Death had gone to as a child, which was how they met. Your mother was from New York City, and her family name is Eter. Your father was an only child, and your mother only had one younger sibling. As far as I know, your grandparents are all dead, and your mother wasn’t on speaking terms with her brother when you were a child. So you won’t have to worry about any aunts, uncles, or cousins.”  
“That’s still a lot of information,” Soul stated.  
“Yes, but it’s all important,” Tsubaki said, giving a smile.  
Maka continued on, telling Soul everything about the Evans family and some things about the Eter family. He wanted to ask about her knowledge of his family tree, but any time he tried, she would dodge the question or Tsubaki or Black*Star would distract him. They were hiding something, and Soul knew it.  
“That’s enough about your family tree for now,” Tsubaki said after a while. “Let’s try walking properly for a short while.”  
“I walk fine,” Soul insisted, adjusting the pack across his shoulders. Blair, who was hiding in one of the bags, mewled in protest, as if Soul had just woken her up.  
“No, you don’t,” Maka stated.  
“You’re all hunched over,” Black*Star interjected. “You need to walk tall and proud! Shoulders back!” Black*Star pushed Soul’s shoulders back, but accidentally pushed him to the ground instead.  
“Hey!” Soul shouted.  
“Let’s try this again,” Maka said, shaking her head at Black*Star. She reached down and helped Soul to his feet. “Okay, so keep your shoulders down and back, and your head straight.”  
Soul did what Maka said, and took a few steps forward until Tsubaki stopped him. “Good enough for now,” Tsubaki told him. “Let’s move on to practicing bowing. The lower you bow, the more respect you give to someone. You probably won’t have to give a deep bow, so we won’t worry about that. If you bow to Kidd, give a medium bow, probably like this,” she said, bending a little above the waist. “You probably won’t have to bow to anyone else, so we should spend more time working on your handshake.”  
The group walked along, the other three drilling advice into Soul’s mind and constantly fixing the way he walked, sat, bowed, or shook hands. “Is there anything I’m doing right?” he grumbled.  
When they finally reached the road, Soul gave a small sigh of relief. Soon enough, it would be night, and he would have an excuse to ignore them. Until that point, he would just have to deal.  
Maka pulled a loaf of bread out of one of the bags. “This isn’t exactly a real meal, but we need to assess whether you eat like a ravenous animal or not.”  
“I’m an orphan, not an animal,” Soul grumbled, accepting the piece of bread that Maka handed him. He was about to start eating when he noticed that they were all staring at him. “Can you three let me have peace for just one second?”  
With Soul distracted, Blair jumped out of the bag she had curled up in and snatched the piece of bread from his hand. “Hey!” Soul shouted as Blair ran off with her prize.  
Black*Star started to snort, which caused the other two to start laughing, which only further escalated the issue. The three dissolved into laughter, Black*Star falling down and Maka having to hold onto a tree for support. While they were laughing, Soul couldn’t help but notice that for the first time, they truly looked their age. The ghost lines of stress disappeared, alleviated for just a moment by happy chance. His head turned in Maka’s direction, and as she was finally able to stop laughing, Soul was struck by an odd thought- “I’ve heard that laugh before”. The closer he looked at Maka, the more he realized that there was something undeniably familiar about her. Perhaps she had stayed in the orphanage for a while before becoming an urchin.  
The strange thing was that Black*Star and Tsubaki were not nearly as… familiar as Maka was. Yes, there was something about them that reminded Soul of a conversation he had had once. He couldn’t remember anything other than that it was spring, and they had been standing near an open window, looking at a garden below. But even that Soul didn’t trust; there were no gardens in Death City. He figured he just read about a garden while hearing about these two, and the memories just phased together. Of course, there was the fact that Soul didn’t read, but this was the only explanation.  
Tsubaki, who had just gotten out of her laughing fit, frowned. “Soul, are you okay?”  
“Yeah,” he stated, not sure if he was lying. “Now eating properly- that sounds boring. Let’s skip that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took forever, and i apologize for that. stuff happened. the good news, if anyone cares, is that i have a bit of a jumpstart on chapter three, and a good idea of where i want to go in the future, so hopefully the next update won't take a year, lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is very late... and not up to my usual standard of editing... but gdi I am not going to leave this project unfinished

“How could that have failed?” Medusa shouted. The charmed mirror in front of her showed the scene yet again: the four of them jumping off of the train unscathed, the Evans boy still breathing.  
“I don’t see why we have to kill him,” Crona muttered from their corner. “Arachnophobia took over Lord Death’s beloved city because of your curse. Isn’t that revenge enough?”  
“My plan was to allow Lord Death to continue living, knowing every single day that is was his fault that his beloved friends had all died,” Medusa said, slowly and dangerously. “His very existence would be nothing but suffering. But then that idiot sister of mine dared to use my plan to take over Death City! Perhaps I shall have revenge on her, as well!”  
Medusa turned to watch the scene again, and for some reason the tension left her shoulders. “Their plan is to get to New York City by boat, correct? Then I suppose we’ll have to arrange for a little… underwater greeting party for Samuel, won’t we?” Her face broke into a wicked grin, and Crona pushed themselves deeper into their corner in an attempt to get farther away from her.

“I’ve never been on a boat before,” Soul commented, staring up at the large ship that they would be boarding shortly.  
“Well that’s to be expected,” Tsubaki said lightly, checking over their luggage. “Hopefully none of us will get seasick, though.”  
“No way I’d get seasick!” Black*Star stated, picking up bags before Tsubaki could look over them.  
“I don’t think that’s something you can control,” Soul said, turning back to look closer at the ship. It was big and looked a little old, but not too old to worry about. Perhaps if Soul had known more about ships, he would have been able to appreciate it more.  
Maka appeared suddenly at Soul’s side, and shoved a large shopping bag into one of their barely-full bags. Tsubaki stared at her for a minute, a sad frown on her face. “We can’t exactly show up to meet Kidd Death dressed like this, can we?” Maka demanded.  
Tsubaki relented, turning away to check their tickets. Maka turned to help Black*Star with the bags. Soul could sense the tension between the two, and coughed awkwardly in his hand before grabbing Blair from out of one of the bags. Blair looked at the group and mewled, shaking her head as if frustrated at them for some reason. She laid down in Soul’s lap and closed her eyes to take a nap.  
“How did you find that cat?” Black*Star asked, watching him. “It’s weird that you have a cat with the same name as the Evans family cat.”  
“She just… found me,” he answered. He almost told them the story, but stopped himself. It wouldn’t seem cool of him to admit that he had been looking for a sign. “I came across her being attacked by a group of rabid dogs, so I chased them off. She followed me after that, and lead me to the manor where we met.”  
Maka looked up slowly. “That cat led you to the manor specifically?”  
“Yeah,” Soul said, confused.  
She stared at Blair, who opened her eyes and stared back. The two stared at each other for a few minutes, until Blair mewed and closed her eyes once more.  
A man in a uniform came up to the group. “We’re about to be boarding shortly. Would you like me to take a few of your bags to the hold?”  
“No, thank you,” Tsubaki said nicely. “We can handle it.”  
He nodded and walked away to talk to another group. “So do we have a room, or what?” Soul asked.  
“We have a room with a set of bunk beds,” Maka stated, starting to gather their things. “Black*Star and I will sleep on the ground, and you and Tsubaki can have the beds.”  
“I can sleep on the ground,” Soul stated. “I’m sure it’d be softer than my bed at the orphanage.”  
“No, I insist,” Maka said, a cocky smile forming on her face. “After all, you are the heir.”  
He hated the way she said that. Like he was some spoiled rotten rich kid. Which, who knows—had the fall of Lord Death never happened, perhaps he would have been. But he wasn’t now, in this life. And it didn’t matter if that’s what Kidd Death expected him to be or not; he would never be that person.  
“Whatever,” Soul shrugged. “If you’re going to be that stubborn about it, sure, I’ll take the bed instead of sleeping on the cold hard floor.”  
A voice crackled over the ancient PA system, gargling out something that sounded like, “The ship is now boarding.”  
“Let’s get going,” Maka said, shoving a few bags at Soul, who had to quickly readjust his grip on Blair to take them. “I can’t wait to actually rest for a few days.”  
The group boarded the ship quietly before making their way to a too-small room. Black*Star immediately left the room to burn some energy by exploring the ship, and Tsubaki decided that she wanted to rest for a little while, so Soul found himself standing on the front deck with Maka, staring out at the ocean.  
“So why did you leave Death City?” Soul asked, after a moment of awkward silence. Truth be told, he wasn’t expecting her to answer him. They didn’t know each other that well, and her reason was probably personal.  
“There was nothing left for me there,” Maka replied, not turning to look at Soul.  
“No family then?”  
She shook her head. “Not sure. I’m fairly certain that my dad is dead, but I’m not sure about my mom. A lot of people fled the city in a panic, leaving behind their loved ones, and my mom could have been one of them.” There was no emotion in her voice, as if she had gotten used to thinking about the fact that her mother had abandoned her. “I would ask about your family, but I think that’s a little redundant,” she said, a small smile on her face. “I mean, you grew up in an orphanage, after all.”  
“Yeah, orphanages aren’t known as very familial environments,” Soul quipped. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m out now. That’s all that I care about.”  
“You don’t care about finding out if you’re really Samuel Evans or not?” Maka asked, raising her eyebrows.  
“Not really,” Soul said. “If I am Samuel, all I get is the inheritance, which is great and all, but learning that you’re the long-lost heir to a family fortune isn’t that great if the family doesn’t come with it.”  
“I thought you didn’t care about family,” Maka said, a teasing tone in her voice.  
“I want to know what it’s like to have a family,” Soul said, not fully believing that he was saying this. Maybe because she had shared her reason for leaving Death City, he felt obligated to share his complicated feelings towards family. “A girl in the orphanage said that every orphan dreams of their family coming back for them, no matter how long they’ve been stuck there. I guess there’s a bit of truth there.”  
“Families aren’t always that great,” Maka said, rubbing her arms. “They’re messy and they can fall apart and leave everyone involved hurt.”  
Soul turned to look at Maka. She was staring down at the ocean, her arms resting on the ship’s railing, her eyes cloudy. He wanted to say something, to tell her that it sucks that she had to experience that, but that that can’t be how all families are. He wanted to give her hope. He saw the look on her face, and knew that it was the face of someone who needed to be reminded that sometimes things can be okay.  
But wouldn’t that be a lie? Soul asked himself. Things don’t turn out okay sometimes. Life isn’t always fair. If life was fair, Maka’s family would be whole, I would know who I used to be, and Death City wouldn’t be in the hands of maniacs.  
“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, moving away from the railing. “I’ll be somewhere below-decks.” They had been having a moment, and Soul didn’t want to get attached to any of the three, although he was certain he already was. He had no doubt that they would go their own way once they got the reward money for finding Samuel Evans, and he would probably never see them again. He didn’t want the separation to hurt more than it had to.  
He wandered around, not going anyplace specific, but rather just trying to keep his mind occupied on lighter subjects. He noted the faux grandeur of the ship, which had aged poorly and left it looking more tacky than anything else. The ship looked like it had once been solely a passenger ship, but after falling on hard times, was renovated to carry cargo as well. Soul had overheard some of the other passengers talking about how all of the fancier areas of the ship had been renovated for storage, with only a dining room, which had been converted into a more utilitarian canteen, and a ballroom being left. He wasn’t sure why they would leave a ballroom. Perhaps they wanted to allow the possibility of grandeur once more.  
Grand walnut double door loomed at the end of the hallway, and it took Soul a minute to realize that this was probably the one remaining ballroom. Curiosity won out, and he stole inside, his eyes taking a few minutes to adjust to the lack of light.  
The room was spacious, but not cavernous, with faded gold wallpaper and a glass chandelier hanging from the center of the room. There was a small band setup at the other side of the room, and Soul’s pulse quickened upon seeing the piano, covered in dust but still elegant.  
He had always felt drawn to the piano, ever since the orphanage got a radio and the woman who ran it put on a classical music station in hopes of calming the kids down. It was classy, cool, and simple. It was versatile, being a cornerstone from classical to jazz to rock ballads. Anyone who put in at least some effort would be able to play the piano well, but you could tell when a true master was playing it instead of a novice. Soul had always wanted to try playing the piano, but knew that that would never happen. But now, when he was being given the chance, there seemed to be an underlying clause to it. If he was able to play well, that would be one more damning piece of evidence to him being the Evans boy, and he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to be Samuel Evans. In the end, his curiosity won out and he slowly made his way across the ballroom, staring at the piano as if it would come to life and attack him.  
When he finally stood beside the piano, he stopped just before touching the keys. He wasn’t sure what would happen. What if he didn’t know how to play, and all of this was just a crazy dream of his? What if he did know how to play? The uncertainties raced through his mind, until, in his agitation, he sat down on the bench and played something. It sounded like the introduction to a song. A song that was familiar to Soul and made his chest ache.  
Footsteps echoed in the room, and Soul jumped from the piano as if electrocuted. “Sorry if I scared you,” Maka said, entering the room. “Tsubaki asked me to find you. She seems to think you need to learn how to dance.”  
“I’ll be up in a minute,” Soul stated.  
Maka nodded and started to walk away. Soul didn’t continue playing until she was almost at the door. Maka froze when she heard the song he was playing. “What’s the name of that song?”  
“Not sure,” he shrugged. “Why? Do you recognize it?”  
She stood there for a minute, thinking. “No.” She turned away and closed the door behind her.  
Soul knew she was lying. What he couldn’t figure out was why. What reason would she have to saying she didn’t know what that song was?  
He shook his head and pushed it from his mind. There were other things he had to worry about. Soul moved away from the piano and left the room, headed towards the deck where he knew the others would be.  
“There you are,” Tsubaki said with a smile as Soul approached them. “We need to brush up on dancing, just in case Kidd wants to throw a party to celebrate your arrival. Nothing too fancy, just a simple waltz. Maka?”  
“Why do I have to dance with him?” Maka asked.  
“You two are about the same height,” Tsubaki answered. “Now hurry up!” She pushed them closer and placed Soul’s hand on Maka’s hip and Maka’s hand on Soul’s shoulder, and pushed their free hands together. “Now let’s begin.”  
The two were close together, but Soul wasn’t bothered. The orphanage has been very cramped, so he was used to close-quarters. Tsubaki started counting in threes, and Soul and Maka both stepped backwards, separating.  
“You two need to be in sync,” Tsubaki said gently as she pushed them together again. “Move as one. Trust that the other knows what they’re doing. Try again.”  
Soul looked at Maka. She didn’t seem to want to look at him, staring over his shoulder. “I’m going to step backwards,” he told her. “Left foot first, then right foot.”  
Her gaze snapped back towards him and she nodded. Tsubaki started counting again and they began to move. It was by no means a graceful dance, but it was a start. They trusted each other, for the moment, at least.  
“That should be good,” Maka said, breaking away. “Samuel wouldn’t have received dancing lessons for several years at this point and Kidd knows he hated them, so he won’t expect much. I’m sure dinner will be shortly. We should probably head to the cafeteria already.” She walked away and went down into the deck.  
“What’s her problem?” Soul asked, turning to Tsubaki and Black*Star.  
“Maka’s been hurt by people she trusted before,” Black*Star stated, throwing things Soul couldn’t see clearly into the ocean. “So she doesn’t trust people much.”  
“Maka’s reasons are very personal,” Tsubaki continued, “so please don’t ask her about it.”  
“If she doesn’t trust easily, why does she trust you two?” Soul asked, a little confused and honestly a little hurt. Sure, he didn’t want to get attached and figured that she had similar reasoning, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t trust each other.  
“We’ve been through fire together,” Tsubaki answered. “We’re practically family, although Maka hates when I say that. She says that none of us have had good experiences with the word ‘family’ so we shouldn’t use it. But I think it defines us well. And if you want, I’m sure you can join our little family too, Soul.”  
Soul stared at Tsubaki, who was smiling kindly, and at Black*Star, who had a grin on his face that said he didn’t know what was going on but was still all for it. “I appreciate it, but I have to agree with Maka. Family is… overrated.” He turned and walked away to avoid looking at their sad faces. Unlike them, he knew the truth: they would all separate and never see each other again. Yet another family broken. He couldn’t let himself get more attached than he already was.

**Author's Note:**

> So far, the only dead characters are Death (ironic) and Medusa (technicality) but I still thought it would be best to leave the major character death tag


End file.
